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### Expressing Obligation with "Trebuie"

To say "must" or "have to" in Romanian, use the modal verb **trebuie**.

Unlike most verbs, **trebuie** is impersonal—it never changes form depending on who is doing the action. It is always just **trebuie**.

To express what must be done, follow **trebuie** with **să** and the main verb. While **trebuie** stays exactly the same, the main verb after **să** is conjugated to match the person doing the action. You can also add adverbs like **neapărat** (absolutely) to emphasize urgency.

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### Pronouns and Multiple Actions

Just as with other verbs, short object pronouns (like *îl*, *o*, *le*) are placed directly between **să** and the conjugated verb.

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When listing multiple obligations in one sentence, you must repeat **să** before each conjugated verb.

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### Chores and Rules

You will frequently use **trebuie** to discuss daily chores, like throwing away the trash (**gunoiul**) or wiping (**a șterge**) the dust (**praful**).

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To talk about keeping quiet in public spaces, Romanian uses the expression **a păstra liniștea** (literally "to keep the silence").

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Obligation and necessity (trebuie să)

adjective

adverb

adverbial phrase

auxiliary

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

The verb to be and definite articles (a fi, -ul, -le)

Feminine definite articles (-a, -ua)

Indefinite articles (un, o)

Negative sentences (nu)

Question words (ce, unde, cine)

The verb to have (a avea)

Masculine plural nouns (-i, -ii)

Feminine plural nouns (-e, -i, -le)

Neuter plural nouns (-uri, -e, -le)

Adjectives and agreement

Present tense of regular -a verbs

Present tense of -a verbs with suffix (-ez)

Present tense of regular -i and -î verbs

Present tense of -i and -î verbs with suffix (-esc / -ăsc)

Present tense of -ea and -e verbs

Reflexive pronouns (mă, te, se, ne, vă)

Accusative prepositions (în, la, pe, din, cu)

Likes and dislikes (îmi place)

Possessive adjectives (meu, tău, său)

Third-person possessives (lui, ei, lor)

Possessive articles (al, a, ai, ale)

Formal politeness (dumneavoastră)

Demonstrative adjectives (acest, acel)

Numbers 1 to 10

The number two (doi, două)

Numbers 11 to 20

Counting by tens to 100

Quantifying large numbers (de)

The subjunctive (să)

Third-person subjunctive (să)

Direct object pronouns (îl, o, îi, le)

Personal direct objects (pe)

Days of the week

Telling time (e ora...)

Months of the Year (January to June)

Months of the Year (July to December)

The Four Seasons

Weather Conditions

Rooms in a House

Basic Body Parts: Upper Body

Basic Body Parts: Limbs

Everyday Clothing

Basic Foods: Groceries

Fruits and Vegetables

Around Town

Getting Around

Setting the Table

A Colorful World

Common Animals

In the Wild

Jobs and Careers

Everyday Tech

Describing people (tânăr, bătrân, înalt)

Asking when and why (când, de ce, care)

Hello and goodbye (bună ziua, la revedere)

Coming and going (intra, sta, trece)

Where is it? (sub, lângă, între)

Knowing and thinking (știu că, cred că)

Sorry, welcome, congratulations (îmi pare rău, la mulți ani)

Introducing yourself (mă numesc, sunt din România)

How much and how many (puțin, prea, doar)

Can and may (pot merge, pot să merg)

If and whether (dacă)

At school and university

Irregular verbs in the present (vrea, lua, da, bea, sta)

Free time and sport

How much is it? (cât costă, câți, câte)

Before and after (înainte, după, până)

At the doctor (mă doare)

Meals of the day (micul dejun, prânzul, cina)

At the restaurant

Ability and permission (a putea să)

Desires and intentions (a vrea să)

Impersonal statements (se)

Adverbs of frequency (adesea, uneori)

Conjunctions for reasons and links (pentru că, deci)

Stressed accusative pronouns (pe mine, pe tine)

Indefinite pronouns (cineva, ceva)

Negative pronouns and double negation (nimeni, nimic)

The past tense auxiliary (am, ai, a)

The past tense (am, ai, a)

Regular past participles (-at, -it)

Regular past participles (-ut, -s, -t)

Negative past tense (nu am)

Past tense with reflexive verbs (m-am, s-a)

Question	Answer
absolutely	neapărat
I absolutely must leave now.	Trebuie neapărat să plec acum.
careful	atent
You must be very careful on the street.	Trebuie să fii foarte atent pe stradă.
the bill	factura
We absolutely must pay the bills.	Trebuie neapărat să plătim facturile.
Do you have the bill? You must pay it today.	Ai factura? Trebuie să o plătești azi.
to throw	arunca
the trash	gunoiul
Where must I throw the trash?	Unde trebuie să arunc gunoiul?
There is the trash. You must throw it away.	Acolo este gunoiul. Trebuie să îl arunci.
to wipe / to delete	șterge
the dust	praful
the office	biroul
He must wipe the dust from the office.	El trebuie să șteargă praful din birou.
to clean	curăța
I must clean the room and wipe the dust.	Trebuie să curăț camera și să șterg praful.
to keep	păstra
the silence / the peace (calm, tranquility)	liniștea
In the hospital we must keep the silence.	În spital trebuie să păstrăm liniștea.
We clean the offices because we must keep them clean.	Curățăm birourile pentru că trebuie să le păstrăm curate.
The children are sleeping, you must be careful and keep the silence.	Copiii dorm, trebuie să fiți atenți și să păstrați liniștea.
it takes, there is a need for	e nevoie de
It takes a lot of time.	E nevoie de mult timp.
There is no need for money.	Nu e nevoie de bani.
Is a doctor needed here?	E nevoie de un medic aici?
I dust every Saturday.	Șterg praful în fiecare sâmbătă.
Who is dusting today?	Cine șterge praful azi?
It's important to sleep well.	E important să dormi bine.
It's hard to learn a new language.	E greu să înveți o limbă nouă.
to clean (the house), to tidy up	face curățenie
We have to clean today.	Trebuie să facem curățenie azi.
On Saturdays I clean the house.	Sâmbăta fac curățenie în casă.
it's good to, you should	e bine să
It's good to drink a lot of water.	E bine să bei multă apă.
It's not good to eat late.	Nu e bine să mănânci târziu.

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